Masa's Story
by Kyuubi's Death
Summary: A story with elements of the games Pokemon Red Rescue Team and Explorers of Sky. Masa the Eevee and Kouku the chimchar team up to find out who Masa really is and where she came from. Kyoya the Grovyle shows up often and is generally rude to everyone he talks too, but he seems to know everything. Why are legendary pokemon going to the bad side all of a sudden? Or are they really?
1. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

AN: I do not own pokemon, I just own a lot of the games. This story is co-posted with Zalezagoon, She's the one who wrote it and I'm just the beta for this story.

For a certain young Grovyle, the afternoon seemed to be going pleasant. Having just made a trip to Union Town's book shop for the latest deliveries, Kyoya snatched up the rare books that weren't in his collection and had managed to pay for and leave with them without any annoying neighbors asking him how his day was going, and without a few new Hall members asking to borrow one of his books. Despite the rather grey, dreary weather and the chilling breeze that swept through Union Town, Kyoya was happy and couldn't wait to cozy up on his bedding and break into his new books.

Traveling down the beaten dirt path bordering a slope descending down to the nearby river and past the west end welcome sign for Union Town, Kyoya thought about the three books sitting in the satchel slung over his shoulder. Which book would he read first? Which book sounded more interesting than the others? They all sounded so interesting, and they all had been difficult to find! _Treasures of Ruin, Vol. 3: The Scenic View_ was about the strange treasures found on the sea floor that supposedly were linked to an ancient civilization that once lived in the bottom of the sea. That book was all about the treasures, where they were located exactly from known ruins, what their uses were likely to be, and an estimation of how long they'd been there. Kyoya had already read the first two volumes—the first volume being about an ancient civilization from the sky, and the second about old clans and tribes in the mountains that had long since passed—and had thoroughly enjoyed both; the empty spot next to those two books was where this one would go once he was finished reading it.

 _Ancient and Unexplained Anomalies_ was another one that had Kyoya rather excited. This book focused on strange places that were created by impossible means of that time, or unexplained events that still leave researchers questioning how and why it had happened. This book was one Kyoya spotted long ago while visiting another town after completing one of his missions and after claiming the bounty. Kyoya had spotted it sitting on the bookshelf behind the clerk in passing while dragging the target to the police station, but hadn't reached it fast enough after bringing the criminal in. The book had been swept up by another collector in that town, and Kyoya knew for an absolute fact there was no bartering with another collector for a book.

"Perhaps I'll read that one, then. I've waited so long to find it again." Kyoya mumbled to himself, taking a left and off the dirt path and towards the woods where his home was tucked away. The last book, _Golden Rescues_ , was a collection of tales from famous Explorers and Rescuers from the past, and some of the harder missions that they'd gone on and overcame with hard work and unique tactics that saved them in the long run. Many of the teams listed in the book were some of Kyoya's personal favorites, and reading some of their missions was nothing new to him, but he didn't mind; he enjoyed each tale just as much as if it were the first time he'd read about them.

Very suddenly the third book appealed to him the most of the three in the white and green bag on his side. "Yes," Kyoya decided, catching his reflection in the silver and gold winged egg shaped badge pinned to his bag, "That one is the one I'll read first." The Grovyle stated to himself, proud of his lucky finds in the bookshop.

Glancing up from his bag and stepping between two closely-grown trees, the reptilian paused in place for a moment, both rather surprised and a little annoyed about the unwelcomed guest roaming beneath the tree his hut of a home was built in. The hut was too high for the small brown and beige fox to jump into, and Kyoya hadn't dropped the ladder from the porch down for anyone in months, making it impossible for the intruder to climb up, thankfully. He couldn't help but notice that the small creature seemed lost and rather unsure, looking up to the hut and calling up, looking for someone who may or may not have been in there. Kyoya grumbled to himself, wondering if this small Eevee was looking for him specifically to ask if he'd take a small mission.

What annoyed him most, though, was that this little Eevee had found his humble little hut built in a tree; Kyoya didn't like anyone knowing where he lived, which was why the tree was the perfect place for his home in the first place. Most Pokemon were too stupid to look up when looking for his home, which was perfectly fine for him because it meant he wouldn't have to be bothered by Pokemon seeking him out and taking small missions that he didn't really want to take in the first place. Kyoya was a Pokemon who liked a challenge on his missions and it was much easier rejecting weaker missions meant for the new Union Hall members if it was on a bulletin board and not from the mouth of the requester.

Kyoya bit back his anger a bit to appear less annoyed than he already was and approached the fox, a frown very pleasant on his face.

The Eevee continued to stare up at the hut, her calls for some assistance finally subsiding to low mumbles. Her ears dropped along with her bushy tail. _No one's home. So what do I do?_ She thought quietly to herself, unaware of the home owner approaching her from her right side.

Kyoya stepped into the Eevee's vision just as she turned to head back through the trees Kyoya had slipped through earlier, and the Eevee perked up slightly. "A-are you the owner of this house? I've been trying to call up to see if anyone was home, but no one's answering." She quickly asked. "I'm a little lost and I need a bit of help!"

 _Perhaps this isn't a plea to take on a weak, low-class mission,_ Kyoya thought to himself. Many Pokemon thought he was an asshole for turning down missions that he considered weak and not challenging enough, but Kyoya didn't seem to care what others thought of him. It was their problem if they thought he was an asshole for wanting the challenge. The weaker missions could be saved for the weaker, newer Union Hall teams.

But, regardless of what this Eevee wanted, it was still dangerous to not only be wandering around alone, but to go up to complete strangers with such disregard for the danger she may or may not be in. "And you thought it would be a good idea to call up to a random stranger in the middle of the forest to ask for directions? In this day and age?" Kyoya grumped out in a low growl. Clearly she didn't care about her own safety if she was trotting up to him so willy-nilly.

The Eevee's ears dropped slightly at his tone and question. "Well…" How could she respond to that? Of course it was common knowledge that going up to a stranger wasn't a good thing to do, but she didn't have much of a choice. She didn't know where she was, after all.

Kyoya rolled his eyes in annoyance with the trusting little Eevee. "Leave the woods through those trees and right, then follow the path to Union Town once you leave the tree line." He answered in a softer, kinder tone, glad that directions were all this little Eevee wanted from him. He certainly wasn't in the mood to be asked to take on special quests, and he certainly wouldn't be accepting any unless they really piqued his interest. The only thing the reptilian wanted to do was read his books in peace. At the moment that was all Kyoya really wanted.

The Eevee, looking both annoyed and rather nervous to be going back out alone when she only had vague directions to go by, turned her attention to the trees Kyoya nudged his head towards, then glanced back to the reptilian once again. Kyoya, however, had already leapt up and into the tree his little hut resided in, and onto the mini porch built around a large branch, and was already heading for the door without pause to look back on the Eevee.

The Eevee bit her bottom lip, watching the Grovyle disappear into his home before turning back to examine the forest setting around her. The Eevee pawed at the ground, taking in her surroundings. Really, all there was were trees, trees, and more trees. To her left were a very close cluster of thick trees, and to her right were more trees grown closely together. In fact, the clearing that she was currently in seemed to only be surrounded by the clusters, as if they'd served as a sort of convenient, makeshift fence for the Grovyle's home. She couldn't help but wonder if this location was purposefully chosen for his home to be built in, or if the closely grown tree line had grown afterwards. The Grovyle didn't seem that old, however, so it was likely the former was true; the Grovyle seemed to act like a grumpy old mon, though.

The Eevee trotted over to the opening the Grovyle pointed out, occasionally looking back to see if he was looking through the small, round window to make sure she was leaving (he wasn't), and paused several yards from the small gap she'd gone through, looking around carefully. Which direction did the Grovyle tell her to go to? Was it the right? Was it the left? Did it really matter if she even had to go through those specific trees to get to the nearest town? Maybe it did matter. Maybe there was some sort of cliff, or a small brook if she'd gone straight to the left, or right, from where his tree hut was located. Or maybe it didn't matter- maybe she could have gone and found the path if she'd just kept going through the tree line, as closely grown as they were. She was a small creature and had little problem squeezing through small gaps, at the very least! Maybe this was the way the Grovyle went, so he was used to telling people to go this direction?

What was the direction she was supposed to go to next? Right? Or was it left? She tried to recall what that Grovyle had told her, closing her eyes to try and remember, but it all seemed to come back to her as a low hum of words she'd barely heard. But the words 'Left' and 'Right' sound completely different! What was the sound that the Grovyle had made when he was talking to her? And why exactly hadn't she been paying attention to what the Grovyle had been saying? She'd been asking for the help, so there shouldn't have been a reason for her to not hear him or pay attention to what exactly he was saying.

The Eevee's gut was telling her to go to the right, and although she questioned what her gut might have been telling her, she ended up going to the right anyway. Maybe that Grovyle had said to go to the right if her gut was telling her to go right. Padding to her right, the Eevee hoped silently to herself that she'd just made the right choice, and, shortly after making her decision, her questions about which was the right way were answered when, between the tree line, she could see a lone dirt path in the shade of the trees just before the grass gently dipped down a hillside.

Trotting between the trees and onto the path itself, the Eevee looked around her in hopes of spotting some sort of marker or distant town. That Grovyle said there was a town nearby, hadn't he? But there wasn't a single sign on the road telling travelers where to go from this point! She'd have to choose to go left or right in hopes of running into either the town, or a sign pointing her back to the way she came; finding the town was far more tedious than she'd thought it would be…

Climbing up the slope, however, the lone Eevee saw a small red and orange chimp Pokemon coming towards her and muttering under his breath. He looked like he'd just gotten in a fight with a thorn bush. Were there thorn bushes down at the bottom of the slope? She hadn't been out on this dirt path yet and didn't know; the Eevee crept over to the edge of the dirt path and looked down to see exactly what had was down there. "You don't want to go down there," the chimp huffed out, raising one of his arms and pinching a thorn out from under it. Just as the Eevee expected, there were thorn bushes down below, just before what seemed to be a small river flowing towards what looked to be a small cliff in the distance to the right. The thorn bushes didn't look like they bordered all of the river, though; the chimp Pokemon must have just taken an unfortunate tumble in the wrong direction. "Those thorns hurt."

"I can imagine," the Eevee mumbled, backing up to the beaten dirt path. "Did you fall down in there?"

"No," the chimp stated rather irritably, pulling another thorn out from under his other arm. "A few thieves came running by and stole something from me and fled into the water; they whacked me into the thorn bush just before I caught them just so they could get away without dealing with me." He explained quickly, gritting his pointed teeth angrily. "I'll get them soon enough. Next time they come back I'll make sure they pay for stealing from me. Then I'll haul them back to Union's jailhouse and get them off the path. They've been lurking in this area for months and have evaded capture for the same amount of time; we don't get any more visitors because of mons like them." The last bit had been hard for the Eevee to hear, but had a good idea of what had been said.

"You're from Union Town?" The eevee asked curiously. "I'm a little lost and I'm looking for Union Town. "Can you tell me, or show me where it is? I was told to follow this path, but…" the Chimp gave her an odd look and the Eevee could tell he was questioning how she could be lost in the first place. If she was on the path, and came from one direction, the answer should have been obvious! "I stumbled through the woods, and the one who told me it was down this path didn't tell me right or left."

The chimp seemed to understand once the Eevee said this. She hadn't been on the dirt path at all! Maybe she'd gone through the woods to avoid being targeted by the bandits that lived around outside of the woods! But it was still dangerous to travel through the woods, especially alone. There were others other than the bandits in the area that lurked around, looking to cause trouble for lone travelers like this Eevee. "What are you doing traveling alone? Yeah, I'll take you back. You shouldn't be traveling alone in this area to begin with."

"That's what the other mon said…" The Eevee mumbled, only this time she had a good idea about why it was dangerous to be wandering around alone. Thieves were nothing to mess around with unless you could deal with them with little problem; she wasn't strong enough to deal with the thieves nor did she have any clue about what they looked like! In fact, for all she knew, this chimp could be one of the thieves himself!

But what could he possibly hope to get from her? She had nothing on her, unless her fur counted as something desirable to be stolen. "Follow me," the chimp said before she could question just who exactly this mon was, or even wonder if it was at all possible that he himself was one of the thieves that had been lurking around. He might have been a thief, or he might not have been. Really, the Eevee didn't know. For all she knew that Grovyle could have been a grumpy thief as well. He certainly didn't seem like a thief, though, but he also didn't seem interested in her at all. Perhaps he saw that she had nothing of worth and just directed her away. Maybe he pointed her in the direction of his thief buddies!

Maybe she'd fallen into a trap!

Maybe she wasn't going to be lead to Union Town!

Maybe she was being lured to their hideout and was going to be mugged and beat up there where they weren't on the road!

Maybe—

"Did'ja hear me? I said follow me!" The Eevee snapped out of her frantic thoughts and turned to look at the chimp, who had already walked several feet ahead before apparently realizing she wasn't following. If he was a thief, he'd walk behind her to make sure to keep an eye on her, right? No thief would turn their back to another, right? "Union Town is this way!" This time he made hand gestures, signaling that she should follow him.

The Eevee took a moment to consider her actions and decisions, and although part of her was telling her to decline the help she'd wanted in the first place, she had a feeling that listening and following him was the best idea possible. "Yeah," The Eevee mumbled softly, beginning to trot after the chimp. If he was leading her to a trap, she could outrun him. Right? But if he knew where the town really was, then it would have been very worthwhile to do as she was told and follow him. "'m coming."

The chimp waited for her to catch up before beginning to walk alongside her. "By the way," the chimp began, "Why are you all alone out here? Surely you know it's not very safe to be out alone." That was a good question. The Eevee wasn't entirely sure, if she had to be honest. She just found herself wandering around in the woods. She didn't just suddenly wake up on the ground; it was as if she had the sudden realization that she was walking around, and she wasn't entirely sure why.

The Chimchar took her silence as her not wanting to answer him, and moved onto his next question as they continued walking along the damp dirt path. "Do you have a name? I'm Kouku."

A name? Come to think of it, a name wasn't something she could recall, either. What was her name, and why was it so hard for her to remember it? The longer she thought about it, the more she began to realize that she didn't remember anything about herself. She remembered… she remembered suddenly realizing that she was walking in the woods. She didn't remember anything else. Why didn't she remember anything else?

"It's okay, I'm not a bad mon." Kouku cut through her thoughts again. "I'm not going to hurt you. But if you don't want to tell me your name, I guess that's fine. I was just being curious."

"Masa." The Eevee quickly said, inwardly wondering why she'd just said that. Was that her name? Why had it taken so long to think and remember it? Something in her mind told her that Masa was the right answer to his question- but which one? Was Masa her name, or was Masa where she came from, or was someone or something named Masa the reason she was traveling all alone in these supposed dangerous area full of bandits and other alike?

"Your name is Masa…?"

She needed to decide what her answer would be; already her silence was strange and questionable at best. "Yes. Call me Masa." Masa stuck out in her head, and there had to be a good reason for that. Maybe, in time, she'd figure it out.

"That's a strange name for an Eevee! But there's no shame in having a different name, either. I know plenty of mon's with rather strange and different names! My cousin's name is Fiero, and for Chimchar's most names have something to do with the species name and the typing, or has to do with lore." Kouku stated, trying to keep the air between from being filled with silence as they continued walking. "In the past there was a famous Infernape that went by the name of Goukuzara—Goku for short!—and my name is sort of like his, only it's spelled and said as ' _K_ ouku' instead of ' _G_ ouku'." Kouku explained, making sure to be extra clear with the different sounds the single different letter made. "Most mon's call me Gouku, though, which I find rather annoying, but sometimes it's hard to tell if it's _Gouku_ or _Kouku_."

To Masa, it all sounded the same. Kouku? Gouku? She could faintly hear the difference, but decided not to repeat it just in case she said it wrong. "What are most Eevee's named?" Masa asked curiously, trying to keep the conversation going. "What are most of the names you've heard?"

Kouku had to think about this for a moment, pausing in his walking for a brief moment before answering; he hadn't exactly met a lot of Eevee's in the past so he really had to think about it. "I think they're usually named Bri, Eve, Biri, Vee, Nora, Noma…" Really, there were a lot of names that he'd heard, but he was sure that there were more names out there for an Eevee; Masa was new to him. "A name is something that makes one unique, even if they share a name with another, though, and so we're not constantly referring to mon's as their species when addressing them. A name gives someone or something a measure of personality, which is why a name isn't exclusive to a single species nor are they supposed to stick with one set of names. I've never met anyone named Masa, but that doesn't mean you're not allowed to be named Masa. It's a strange name to me, but I like it. Do you… kinda get what I'm saying?"

Masa wasn't entirely sure what Kouku was trying to say, and even Kouku wasn't sure he'd said it all right, but it all sounded rather meaningful. A name was a name. It wasn't exclusive to one species, and one species wasn't just allowed to pick from a pool of names. Names gave character, and it was a unique way of doing so. Masa was a unique name to Kouku, if Masa understood correctly, and perhaps she could even draw that it was extra unique given her species wasn't prone to choosing a name like such. "I think I do." Names were special in general, but it sounded like Kouku was saying that Masa's name was even more special to him.

AN: Please review this story and let me know what you think of it. Flames will help me make bon fires and burn random trees.


	2. Old Town of Trees

AN: Finally got the second chapter of this story. A note from the writer is at the end of this chapter, also I do not own pokemon unless you count the pokemon games and stuffies in my room. Please tell me how the chapter is and thanks for waiting for it.

The walk to Union town was quicker than Masa had imagined, especially with Kouku at her side telling her about the town, and she was very pleased to see that she was actually being brought to a town, and not to some secret hideaway in a cave or something; she could feel her anxiety level lowering just as her comfort level was rising a bit as she and Kouku paused at the bottom of a small hill to look upon their destination.

Union town wasn't exactly what Masa was expecting, either. When she envisioned Union Town, she expected to look upon it and see little huts made up of wood, mud, or a combination of the two. Instead, however, what she found Union town to be was a rugged collection of off-the-ground treehouses strung together by various wooden bridges and logs with foot-sized chunks carved out of the hull. The river curved away from the town just as the first set of carved steps reached out to the dirt path, leading into the thick tree line; tree house tops, bridges, and walking decks could be seen peaking between the many trees that the two Pokemon still had to walk by.

"Wait, so Union town is all-"

"In the trees," Kouku finished, grinning proudly at the town. "There are several entry points on the ground leading up to the town; technically, it's more of a village than a town, though." The chimchar stated, pointing to a very large tree off towards the middle of the forest. "See that much larger, thicker tree way over there? That's where the town square is located with most of the shops. Along the outer rim of the square are where most homes are located; you'll see Union Inn before you see a few homes, though. The builders thought it would be wise to build the inn closer to the forest edge,

"The smaller trees around in the forest are used as support beams for the houses and platforms for the Pokemon. Each house is supported by about three to five trees, and each home is created uniquely for all of the trees to continue to grow around the home while simultaneously supporting it. That being said, no tree home is at all alike, being completely different in both shape and size. The town itself spans for what I can estimate to about 90* yards."

Masa just listened quietly as her companion continued on about the details of his own hometown, fascinated by the knowledge he had about it. But how did he know all of these details about the town? Surely he wasn't there when it was all built! The log that reached out to the dirt path was old and covered in moss, and at first it was a little slippery, but with Kouku's help, Masa managed to make it up the log and to the wooden platform above. To the immediate right, scattered through the trees were various huts of the same shade of mud brown, but all of different shapes and sizes, each having its own bridge all connecting to the same point where another hut rested between several large branches, with a sign nailed to the doorframe reading 'Union Inn; enjoy a quiet night or two in your own private rented hut for 400 Poke a night!'

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She and Kouku were so far up, standing on wooden planks that stretched out for quite the distance, weaving around and between tree trunks. They were both so far up already, yet the distance between where she and Kouku were standing and the treetops was phenomenal. Were these trees really this tall to begin with? Masa had noticed that the forest trees were very tall, but she severely underestimated the height of the trees; Kouku seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, too. "The trees in this forest grow an average of 60 to 70 feet, and the larger tree in the center of this area is roughly 100 feet tall, give or take. This forest is very, _very_ old, as you can probably guess, and it doesn't seem like this forest will be dying anytime soon. This forest is cared for by many different Pokemon and the residents of Union Town." The Chimchar briefly explained, beginning to walk across the wooden deck and to the rope bridge that would carry them to the next island; Masa could see a few huts, larger than the other ones she'd seen for the inn rooms, along the edge of the deck, each one with a unique shape to them, and various decorations. They were all still the same muddy brown color as the huts for the inn, though. Maybe those ones were homes for other Pokemon.

"How long has this town been up here in these trees? I noticed the log we used to get up here seemed pretty old?" The Eevee asked curiously, going to Kouku's right. Kouku seemed to already know a lot about the forest, so perhaps he knew about the town's history, as well? All of this information was very interesting to Masa, especially since she knew next to nothing about this area, and more importantly, herself. She knew her name, but that was about it. Was she from this area? Was there something in this forest that caused her to forget everything about herself? Perhaps there was a mushroom that looked rather delicious in this forest that caused her to forget everything she knew about herself? Mushrooms had effects like that, right? Or perhaps there was a nauseous gas somewhere in this forest that caused her memory loss? Maybe there was a Pokemon living in this forest that caused her to lose her memories! Any and all information would be quite useful to the small Eevee, she was very sure.

"How long has the town been around? That's… a good question…"Kouku paused for a long moment as he thought this question through. How long had the town been around? He imagined it would be pretty old! Unfortunately, Kouku didn't know the answer to that question. "You might have to ask the mayor that question, to be honest. I never wondered how old this town might be, and I've only heard the information I know now out of passing. There are plenty of other mons in this town who will jabber your ears right off with this same information, too, except they'll go about explaining it the long way. But never has anyone mentioned how old this town is. "They reached the old Bridge, and Kouku couldn't help but notice a few stray rope tendrils were peeling away from the main body; he'd have to let someone know of this so it could be fixed before the rope holding the bridge gave way in the future. The entire bridge needed to be restored.

 _Perhaps asking all that was sort of a longshot._ Masa thought to herself. Kouku wasn't an encyclopedia, after all. And learning about how long the town had been here wouldn't have solved Masa's current question, which was why she didn't remember anything about herself to begin with. What did her lack of memories and the history of the town have in common? Perhaps she was hoping for a chance the conversation to lead about the mysteries of this apparently large forest, though. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't expect you to know everything there is about this area." the Eevee sighed softly, pausing momentarily to inspect the rickety wooden bridge, and to confirm once again just how far up they really were before following closely after the fire chimp.

"No, that's fine. It was simply a question I didn't know the answer to, is all. I'm sure someone else will know more than I. I moved to this town not too long ago if I had to be completely honest. If you want, I can bring you to someone who might know more about this place than I do." It was a nice offer, but Masa decided that the information may have been useless to her. Learning about how she lost her memory probably had nothing to do with this forest, and this mon might end up asking her about herself. Surely she already seemed like a suspicious mon after only barely telling Kouku her name, which she wasn't really sure was correct.

"I think I'll be fine for now. It's not really important information." The Eevee replied softly, turning her head to look at the homes they were passing by. One of the homes, the one closest to her, was sort of rectangular-shaped with the very ends of the corners cut off for the tree branches to continue growing without trouble, and the base of the tree was coming up on the left side of the house; the home past that was triangular, and although it wasn't as wide as the first one, it was much taller and looked like it had a second story to it. The second one seemed more interesting than the first home, as it had more decoration to the outside. There were a couple of wind chimes hanging off one of the lower hanging branches, a couple of paper lanterns, and the door itself had a pair of paw prints in red paint on it. "Some of the homes seem a little more decorated than the others," Masa commented aloud.

Kouku chuckled, pausing in his walk and pointing to the house with the paw prints on the door. "Those are my prints on that door, actually," He stated, holding his hand out for Masa to look at and compare to the shapes on the door. "Here in Union Town, it's how one expresses ownership of one of these homes. The other one that you think looks less decorative is actually a vacant home; Ms. Echo just moved out of there a couple of weeks ago to go live with her sister and brother in law, Mrs. Musa and Mr. Chima own a large apple farm and needed some help with their harvest, so Ms. Echo moved over to help them and live on their property."

Knowing that the house belonged to Kouku made Masa smile a bit. It really was a very cute hut. It was all made of wood, and the only painted color that were just those paw prints he'd put on the door. There was no mailbox for a name, nor was there a wooden plaque posted near or on the tree the house was built in saying who the house belonged to. The home itself looked like it was two stories, and because of that Masa could easily imagine the chimp next to her climbing up a ladder of some sorts to go crawl in his little nest near the window at the top, and fall asleep at night. It made her wonder what Kouku's home looked like on the inside. Was it really as tall as it looked, or was it shorter? Was it spacious in the home, or was it rather cramped? Didn't it feel strange living in a house that was lifted off the ground by the trees around and underneath it?

Wait, wasn't Kouku a _fire_ type Pokemon? And, so long as Masa wasn't delirious, there was clearly a small flame coming out of his rear end! It wasn't for decoration, either, for Masa could practically feel the heat from the active flame behind the Chimchar. Wasn't his tail(?) a fire hazard? Wouldn't this burn his home—and part of the forest if not the entire forest?

As if he was reading her mind, Kouku shook his head in half disbelief, half amusement. "You don't know about Chimchar's, do you?" he asked with a slight chuckle. "When we sleep, the fire on our rears go out. The flame burns when we're awake, it weakens when we're injured or ill, and goes out when our body stops producing energy, for the most part. So, to answer that question I know is floating around in your skull, no, I'm not going to burn down my own home and/or the forest in my sleep." Really, it was a very common question Kouku got, especially from other mons who couldn't believe he was living in a town entirely enveloped high in the trees using rope bridges and wooden walkways to get around. He was a _fire_ type, after all. "There aren't even any singe marks in my house. Want to take a look?"

Masa felt a little unsure, as well as surprised, to suddenly be offered to join him inside his home. Although she couldn't deny that the thought of singe marks being there in the house had crossed her mind, the small Eevee didn't seem all too comfortable with the idea of going into somemon's home to go inspect it. _If I go in, though, I might be able to have a chance to rest my feet. I'm not entirely sure how long or far I've walked, but I think a small rest would be in order._ The Eevee would never admit that to the Chimchar, but if the opportunity to take a moment to rest came up, and to maybe even get some water and a bit of food from this kind stranger, then Masa wouldn't be one to pass up any sort of refreshment. If the normal type had to be honest, she was hoping that Kouku would offer some food and water because she was famished! Her hunger had been gnawing at her empty stomach ever since she sort of _realized_ she'd been walking in the forest. Her empty stomach, as easy as it was to ignore beforehand in light of her current situation, wasn't very easy to dismiss at that current moment; as if on cue, the Eevee's stomach gave a guttural groan, begging to be appeased with the very food the Eevee was thinking about only moments ago.

A grin split on Kouku's face, and suddenly he turned on his heel in the direction of his home and began walking towards it, going at a faster pace than he'd been walking in the first place. "C'mon. You're hungry, and I should have figured you were. It's impolite of me to ignore what I already know for a fact, and I absolutely insist that you come and get some chow!" He was already halfway to the door by the time Masa decided to follow and began to trot after him, feeling that she probably didn't have much of a choice. "What sort of things do you like to eat?" Kouku called over his shoulder, pushing his door open with a light, audible grunt. "I have a lot of apples, and I have a wide selection of berries! And I have some greens for a salad if you'd like. Or I have some Skiddo Cheese spread and some crackers—oh, but you won't be able to spread the cheese over the cracker! I'll have to do all that for you since you don't have thumbs or any really usable fingers. I find that the Nanab berries and the Pinap berries are very delicious this time of year! Rawst berries can be a bit bitter, too, this time of year—well, they're always pretty bitter, but I mean more than normal this time- but the Pecha berries make a very nice jam year around! And I have a jar of apple butter, too."

 _Skiddo cheese? Nanab, Pinap, Rawst and Pecha berries? What the hell were those?!_ Masa asked herself as she approached the open door to Kouku's home, only half aware of what she was doing. Each word _sounded_ familiar to her, but when she tried to envision each berry and the Skiddo Cheese, she just couldn't find an image for any one of them! Did this mean that she didn't even know the very basic information and way of living? It was clear that these were all a sort of food item, but she wasn't expecting to be drawing blanks on them all. What else did she not know about? Or was 'What _do_ I know _'_ the better question to ask herself? It didn't seem like she knew much. She certainly didn't know information about herself, her current location, and apparently berries and food.

"So the first floor is mostly just a living space where I chill during my downtime. I enjoy painting, especially with my fingers because they're easier to use than my paint brushes; the paint splatters you'll find in here are a far cry from singe marks, though."

Masa, momentarily distracted from her own thought process by what Kouku was saying, paused just inside the doorway to take a look around. His home was, indeed, a two-story home, and it was a very small home on the inside! Immediately upon walking in was a thick ladder placed just to the right of where she was currently standing, each step being thick and hallow enough to make up for some sort of shelf, and leading upwards to a small platform that likely might have been where Kouku slept. Just beyond that ladder was what looked to be a kitchen set up. The kitchen itself didn't look all too impressive, as there was only a medium-sized shelving unit pushed off onto the adjacent wall with wooden buckets full of apples and other things Masa assumed were most likely to be edible. Next to a few of the wooden buckets were a couple of jars filled with a colored substance, each color varying per jar.

Across from the shelving unit were a few barrels filled with large chunks of wood up against the opposite wall, and what looked to be a large pile of dirt enclosed by a pentagonal shape of rocks and pebbles a few feet away from them, with a few logs stacked in the middle of the dirt pile; there was a single metal pot hanging on a long pole over the fire pit a good distance above the pit.

The area just before the ladder was very small and consisted of a few wall shelves, a very small table, a red and orange cushion on the floor, and several books and scrap paper laying around. It was a little messy, yes, but Masa was momentarily distracted by the numerous paint splatters on the wooden floor, the walls, the table, and on few steps on the ladder; there were probably more that she didn't notice, which was surprising given their various colors, shapes, and sizes. Most of the splats didn't even look accidental, either! And it was hard to say that Kouku had even put in much effort to clean any of the paint up. Most of the residual paint looked to serve some sort of decorative purpose on the walls. "You, uh… you sure like to paint, I take it?" Kouku had mentioned he liked to paint to begin with, but Masa wasn't expecting to see just how much the chimp enjoyed to paint.

"It's mostly a fun hobby of mine I use to pass the time," Kouku replied, making his way happily over to the shelf of food in the kitchenette. "Most of my paint I make myself using a mixture of apricorns- for the solid color-, and berries to keep it all smelling nice. The red apricorns have a scent that really assaults your nose, and the black apricorns are something I couldn't describe even if you threw a dictionary at my face," Kouku finished, glancing back to his guest, already beginning to ask what it was she wanted to eat; it was nice to hear that Kouku had a nice hobby he enjoyed, but the new terms seemed to cause the eevee to have a confused look on her face, making Kouku pause for a moment as he stared over in her direction. "You look incredibly confused."

This was it, wasn't it? This was when Masa confessed that she had no idea what he was talking about. This was when she was going to explain that she didn't know what he was talking about, and didn't know what these berries or apricot-things were to begin with; this was when she explained that she had no memory of who she was, where she was, why she was in the area, or how she'd gotten to be lost in the woods. Masa bit down on her bottom lip, taking the short moment to look for the words she needed, hoping that Kouku would understand at the very least.

 _ **A/N:**_

 _From the author-_

Hello, and thank you for reading my fic so far! I'm sorry I'm doing very slow updates. I'm a slow worker, yes, however, I was also having family visiting just before the big Thanksgiving rush was going on at work, and usually by the time I got home at those times, turned on my computer and pulled up the word doc for chapter 2, I had passed out in seconds. I won't make any promises as far as how fast I'll dish these chapters out, however, but I can say that I'll hopefully be able to dish them out faster.

Now, there were a few things I wanted to point out to you. First of all, the name for Union Town came to me when I was looking at a pen my local bank gave me. :/ Sorry, not a very glamorous name, and there's no real meaning behind it. I don't plan to change it.

 ***** Union Town is about 3/4ths the size of a football field, give or take. If you want to know, here is my process for coming up with that measurement for the town:

Town can't be too big looks up how much a yard is looks up how many yards a football field is decides I only need a third of that math it out to 90 yards.

And that's literally my thought process.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that Kouku is a shortened variation of the Japanese name for Infernape, which is Goukazaru. I combined Gouka with Goku (from DBZ), slapped a 'K' over the 'G', and that's about it.

Want to know about Masa's name? Stay tuned, because I'm not ready to drop info about that one _just_ yet! Just know there was an actual meaning other than _It sounds cool_.

Also, I would like to apologize for shit descriptions. I'm really bad at descriptions 90% of the time. X~X

This concludes the notes from the author.


	3. Learning about the Halls

AN: I'm sorry for the long wait that was due to family problems but here's the next chapter.

Masa found herself nibbling on the bottom of her lip nervously, searching for words she could use to properly explain the situation to Kouku. She was an Eevee- that much she knew, and she knew she didn't know exactly who she was. She didn't know what these terms were that Kouku kept throwing around. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know how she ended up in the forest to begin with, and she was very concerned about her lack of knowledge. Why was she here? Why did she not remember who she was? Why was she in the middle of the forest, and why was it that, rather than waking up in the forest, her last memory was simply just _realizing_ that she was walking in the forest?

"Well…" Was it going to be alright to tell Kouku the truth? She just met him maybe an hour ago! She wasn't sure if she could entirely trust this Pokemon despite the fact that he so kindly brought her to his home and was offering to give her some food and water. "The thing is-"

"Apricorns are normally used to make energy smoothies, right?" Kouku finished, assuming that this was what she had wanted to say. "I know, but we don't exactly have a lot of athletic mons around here, and we grow way too many apricorns! Believe me; I work down in the berry field owned by Mr. Trock and his grandson Mahagi, and we have an entire section just dedicated to apricorns. We fly them out to other towns, or I'll occasionally go out with a crate or two and sell them elsewhere. But if I find a few bad apricorns, I bring them home and use them to make paint. Trevenant's really know how to take care of their orchards, but it's still not unheard of for produce to go bad.

"The paint, however, doesn't go bad for a while when mixed correctly, either, but I usually have to use it all before it goes bad to paint up some new signs after rain and snow storms come by, or if the sun causes the paint on existing signs to fade out. Why, earlier today I saw Mr. Nabang and his wife Dorong in the square and they asked me to come out tomorrow to fix the damages to any of the Pokemon Inn signs. Tonight we're expecting some pretty heavy rain, and some signs are more exposed than others while some needed to be repainted to begin with."

This sudden conversation about Kouku's jobs around the town involving working orchard fields and fixing signs had come almost out of nowhere, but Masa was also pretty glad that the subject had taken the turn it had. The idea of telling Kouku she didn't know anything was a scary thought to her. Would he understand? Would he laugh? Or would he think she was lying and trying to get something out of him? It made Masa think for a moment; should she still come clean to anyone about not knowing who she was? Or could she get away with it all until she figured out exactly who she was?

Kouku's talk about what apricorns were normally used for shifted the conversation enough for Masa to get away without talking about what was actually troubling her, thankfully, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel a little bad for hiding this information from the kind Pokemon that was helping her that very moment, but at the same time she felt that it was necessary until she had a clear idea of what she wanted to do. That, and she didn't know much about Kouku to begin with, other than his work and hobbies. She couldn't trust him just yet, right? Or perhaps she could? He was so nice! But she'd also only known Kouku for maybe an hour. For all she knew, he could have been a bad Pokemon who just did favors around the town to get others to trust him! For all she knew, Kouku might have been a serial killer! For all she knew, this entire town was merely a sham and all these words Kouku was speaking were all lies to get her to believe that this town was actually a real town and not some sort of dumpsite for bodies and-

"So, as you can see, there are no scorch marks in here! Just a lot of paint on the walls, the floor, the furniture…" Now that Kouku reflected on where exactly his paint was, he had to admit that it made him look like a messy and very lazy mon. Some of the paint Kouku didn't even put effort in either cleaning up, or making it look pretty and on purpose! The walls on the second floor where he slept was another story, though! Up in his little nest area was relatively clean, but from one side to the other, the entire wall extending to just before where the ladder fell was covered in his own little doodles and paintings. He didn't bother to frame any, though, simply opting to paint straight on the wall and worry about fixing any disastrous mistakes later.

Grabbing a wooden bucket of apples off the lowest shelf in the small kitchen area, Kouku returned to the living space, setting the bucket of apples on the small, paint-splattered table. He claimed a spot next to the cushion on the ground, patting the same cushion next to him as a gesture for Masa to come sit there, as she was still standing by the door while lost in the conversation and her thoughts. "Ah, I've taken up the entire conversation! What was it that you were going to say, Masa?" the Chimchar asked, reaching into the bucket for an apple and a short knife to begin slicing the delicious fruit up with.

Masa paused for a moment, debating one last time with herself before finally deciding on her course of action. "No, it's alright," she answered softly, glancing turning her attention down to her paws instead of the Chimchar to her left. "It wasn't important. It's more interesting listening to you talk about your work, hobbies, and the townsfolk!" This was her final decision. She didn't know him well enough to confide in him. She'd keep her secrets for now. "Do you plan to be a painter when you get older?"

Kouku pondered on what to say for a long moment, letting the silence between the two of them be filled with the sound of his knife slicing through the apple with a crisp _shhhn_ , "Actually, I'd much rather be a member of the Union Hall," he admitted softly, making Masa strain her ears slightly just to hear him as he set one half of the apple aside for later preparation. "There's so much bad in the world, and I'd much rather be spending the time I have to help keep it at bay. There are clans and tribes out there, right now, causing mass fear and destruction to those they don't like; there are hundreds of mon's out there who have turned against one another, and are coming out and attacking the public, travelers, and teaming up together. The world that we live in isn't as dandy and fine as it used to be, and I'd like to contribute my own time to save those I can from being mugged, injured, or worse."

Kouku's words were noble. From what Masa understood, being part of Union Hall was like keeping the peace between mons, and making sure that harm does not come to those who do not deserve it. He sounded incredibly sincere about his dream, as well. Perhaps he was a good mon. "What's stopping you from joining Union Hall?" Masa asked curiously. Surely he could make his dream reality if he tried hard enough!

"To put it bluntly, I'm known for quite the temper here in the town- both Union Head Galahadi and Mayor Junko believe that if I were to create a team to go out and help others no mon would want my help due to my bad rep."

That certainly hadn't been the answer Masa had expected, and Kouku could tell based on the worried look she had on her face; he laughed slightly in response, turning his gaze down to his hands as he began to carve away bits of apple in an attempt to make a specific shape. "I grew out of all that, tough. My reputation precedes me here, and I have yet to prove to them that I am no longer the mon I used to be."

When Kouku said 'here', did that mean the immediate area? Masa wasn't very sure if that was what he meant, but if that was, then that would mean all he would have to do is reach out to others not in the area. Like that Grovyle that was living in the trees outside of the town, there had to be other mons living outside of the town! "What about other towns? Maybe you can help the ones from other towns. That is, if they're close enough. What about the town you said you deliver apricorns to?" But he wouldn't have to be a Union Hall member to help anyone, really. He could freelance it all, right?

"The town I usually bring the apricorns to is Mistybrook, and that's Mistybrook jurisdiction." Kouku explained, glancing up with a slightly raised brow to the Eevee next to him. Did she really not know this? "I'd have to be part of the Mistybrook Hall, and in order to do that I'd have had to live there for a year at least. I can help with small things if I'm there, but for actual missions, I'd need to have residency in that area, followed by a Hall permit to other towns, and permits are only given to Hall members of great skill and power. Otherwise, Mistybrook mons go to the Mistybrook hall for help. "Unless I want to move, my best chance of becoming a Hall member is to prove to Union Town, and the Pokemon who come to Union Town Hall, that' I'm not the old Kouku they know me as."

Masa hadn't realized it was all that complicated. Initially, she believed that Union Hall was an actual place in Union Town, but perhaps that wasn't the case. If there was a Hall in Mistybrook _and_ Union town, then perhaps the word _Hall_ was never even a place in either towns, but it was more of a figurative hall; the process of being a Hall member seemed to be more complicated than she'd anticipated, as well. It wasn't so much of a volunteer-type job as it was a full time commitment that relied on completely reliable mon's that can be trusted without a single doubt. Even if Kouku was a sort of troublemaker in the past, that was in the past! And if the head of Union Hall couldn't overlook that…

But Masa also didn't know what exactly it was that Kouku did in his past. What sort of trouble did he cause? If he was so into painting now, perhaps he used to paint graffiti around the town, or the area? Or perhaps Kouku was some sort of thief? An instigator? A mon who assaulted other mons in more than one way? A murderer out on parole, or a lying cheat who would say anything to get his way, or perhaps a part of the mafia or-

"Here," Kouku's warm voice melted right through Masa's thoughts, grabbing her attention as he set down a few slices of apple on a wooden plate next to him and patting the place before it for her to sit. "Eat some apples. These are the best apples in this town- I know, because I picked them myself!" His boasting was rather amusing. Perhaps this Chimchar wasn't what Masa thought he was. He'd admitted a bit ago that he was a troublemaker, but the Kouku didn't sound or look like he was one when Masa looked at him. Kouku was being very kind and friendly to her. Based on first impressions, Masa would have never thought Kouku was a known troublemaker.

 _Listening to him now, it's impossible to say I can believe he is or ever was a troublemaker._ Masa admitted to herself, finally deciding to settle down next to the chimp. _He's not a bad mon. I shouldn't judge him. I had my doubts, but they're subsiding the more I talk with him. He's so honest. No way a shady mon would be honest about being a known troublemaker! If I were looking to hurt somemon, I'd make sure to make myself look like the best mon my victim could ever find and speak with!_ Perhaps this wasn't how all criminals and shady mons thought, but it was enough for the small Eevee to feel like she could trust the fire chimp next to her. In a world where she didn't even know who she was, and with Kouku being the only mon around and being so kind to her, Masa didn't mind being in his company.

Kouku continued to talk about his work for the next few minutes and Masa merely listened as Kouku later went on about life in the town, and about the latest gossip about himself and a few others. He talked about Mayor Junko Dori, a Sceptile in charge of the town, and he spoke of Galahadi and his strange looking daughter, Liri. According to Kouku, Galahadi a Galade and the head of the Union Hall, and his daughter was a Kirlia known for her tough mon act despite her dainty figure.

After quite a bit of time had passed and quite a bit of talking, there was a loud crack of thunder following a bright flash of lightning, illuminating the dark world outside that was brought on by night; Kouku suddenly realized that he'd kept Masa for far too long, and that it was far too late to go into town now like they had originally planned to do. "Why don't you stay here for the night, and tomorrow morning we'll go to the heart of the village." Kouku honestly wasn't sure what it was that Masa would do in the village, but it seemed like the logical thing a traveler would do. "It's too cold out, and you'll be drenched. Everyone has probably gone home, anyway. It's late, and it's raining hard."

"Okay," Masa agreed quietly, glancing towards the window they'd spotted the flash of lightning from. It didn't look too good out, so Kouku was probably right. She'd have to stay with him for the night.

 _ **A/N again**_ **:**

How is everyone doing? I'm glad you're enjoying this fict, those of you who are reading it. I'd like to make a few notes regarding the names of some of the Pokemon I've given, and I'll try and list them all in order. _**Also, forgive me if these terms are incorrect. I'm literally looking up the names of each Pokemon in different languages and either taking the full name or part name, taking a word the name in another language inspired the Pokemon name itself, etc… Basically, the translations come from google, and I get the words from the list of names for a Pokemon in other languages on the Bulbapedia.**_

\- Trock is a Trevenant, and his name comes from the German word _Trocken_ meaning 'dry'

\- Mahagi is a Phantump, and his name is inspired by the word _Mahogany._

\- Nabang is a Mothim, and his name is the Korean word for Moth.

\- Dorong is short for _dorong'i-beollae_ , which translates to Bag worm in Korean.

\- Galahadi is a combination of _Galahad_ , one of the knights of Arthurian Legend, and the German name of Gallade, which is _Galagladi._

\- Liri is short for _Lirin_ , and was actually the name of an old Kirlia OC I made for something for some strange thing I don't quite remember.

I would also like to apologize for the terribly long wait! Immediately after the holidays, I was having some bad internet connection, health problems, some bad laptop business, more holiday shit, a blizzard, and a bunch of other shit that got in the way, and more internet connection problem (all in that order). And the blizzard did not get me out of a few days of work and give me a change to finish this up. I live within walking distance of my work, so I got the exact opposite of a calm few days off. If anything, though, it was hysterical seeing people drive tractors outside in the blizzard to get around.

I'm going to try and stay on top of this, but I can't guarantee that'll last very long.


	4. The Eon Tribe

By the time the heavy rain had stopped pouring down on the village in the trees it was well past dawn, and it was well past noon when Kouku and Masa finally woke up and began moving around. It had been a busy night listening to Kouku talk about the village more, and life in general, but Masa enjoyed every minute of it. At one point, Kouku had pulled his paints and scrap paper out and began painting Masa's likeness, exaggerating her ears and tail as a shared ungodly morning time joke; soon after they both had finished giggling over the painted picture did the two young mons finally fall asleep.

Currently in the main part of the town, Masa couldn't help but yawn tiredly as she watched the fire chimp across the board walk purchase something from a floating black wisp with a tree stump as a head, talking happily albeit sluggishly. It was midafternoon, to say the least, and the pair were incredibly tired. As Masa stood off to the side near a large tree with signs pointing in different directions nailed to it, the small Eevee took note of everyone and everything around her.

The boards being walked on were nicely cut and quite even, and the surfaces were smooth so no mon could get a splinter in their feet and paws just by walking. Whomever cared for the boards for the village in the trees took extra care on them, it seemed- the small brown and beige mon wondered who it was that cared for the boards, and the tree village in general. Whomever it was that cared for the town was doing a great job. But who could it have been? Sitting off to the side next to the town bulletin board, Masa had a great viewpoint of the square (it was more like a circle than a square, though) and all of the current mons; two ghost tree Pokemon were manning the food stall across the way just next to a plethora of wooden crates where other mons were sitting at, enjoying the spot of afternoon sun while they ate their food and drank their drinks from the café just a short bridge away.

To Masa's immediate left was what looked like a bank being run by a small steel type Pokemon that Masa had overheard was named Clave, and a much larger flora-enveloped Pokemon named Flora. She recalled the chimp talking about the two Pokemon that ran the bank the previous night, too, saying they were great friends and also a duo that should never be messed with. _Flora is a Florges, and she's a very strong one at that. Her partner Clave is also very strong despite his tiny size. Flora handles the basic customer interaction while Clave is behind the scenes handling all the locks and safes. The tree that's behind the counter holds all of the safes and Clave uses his_ Fairy Lock _to keep it all safe._ It was interesting how a Pokemon's moves could be used in a way that didn't include fighting!

 _Just past the bank is the bookstore_ , Kouku had explained the previous night. _Thortula and Yaneura. Yaneura may look pretty scary, but she's probably the nicest Yanmega you'll ever meet. Thortula is equally friendly, but he's also skittish so you generally don't see him around. But if you see a blue and yellow spider walking around, that's him! He's fast, though, and he tends to stay in the trees if he's ever outside._ If it was rare to see Thortula out, then today was Masa's lucky day. Not only did she spot the large red and green dragonfly buzzing around carrying a crate full of books, but the small Eevee also saw the 2-foot yellow and blue spider helping the Grovyle she'd seen the previous day at the counter. Perhaps Yaneura was getting books to restock on and Thortula takes charge of the counter until the other gets back?

"You got lucky!" Kouku chuckled slightly as he returned to the Eevee's side carrying two servings of the _Berry's Galore Salad_ he'd been talking about on their walk to the center of the town; at first, Masa didn't immediately notice her companion had returned until he'd stepped in her peripheral vision. "Yaneura was probably out to collect a delivery. When that happens, Thortula takes over the shop until she gets back." Kouku explained suddenly, following her gaze as he placed the Eevee's lunch on a nearby wooden box for her. "But not many go to the book store anymore. The only regular customer is that Grovyle, Kyoya. I hear his book collection is amazingly large! Nowadays you don't see him coming into town unless he's picking up a book or three. He never sticks around longer than he has to, either."

"That's a shame," Masa replied, "this place is so lively. The mon's here seem really nice, too. I've gotten a lot of 'Good afternoon's out of a lot of mons! But I've also gotten quite a few strange looks, too- probably because I'm not from here, I guess." It was true. With as many 'good afternoon's she'd gotten, Masa couldn't help but notice a lot of mons stared at her in a strange, almost wary way. The only reason behind it that she could think of was that she was a new mon that no one around here knew, and they all probably thought she was visiting. "Not that it bothers me."

Kouku gave the Eevee a sympathetic look. "Actually, there's another reason for that. Eevee's, and the other _Eon_ Pokemon aren't around here, yes, but there's also been a rise in crime involving the _Eon Tribe_. I was telling you about that last night? The different clans, at least." Around the world were many different clans and tribes, most of whom were constantly fighting over territory and the likes. There were a few in the past who had their eyes set on world domination, but Hall members were always there to put a stop to them. "What I never mentioned was that the Eon Tribe are one of the most notorious and dangerous ones out there. They all start from the basic Normal type fluff ball, but they all evolve into different types! Dark, Psychic, Electric, Fire, Water, Ice, Grass, and now Fairy!

"Normally one tribe has one or two different types, and with a bit of effort they can be stopped if the right Hall team is sent to stop them! But the Eon Tribe is a little different because of the diversity in their ranks. Currently, they own the largest amount of territory than any other tribe or clan. Odds are the mons that gave you the strange looks thought you might have possibly been part of the Eon Tribe. It's hard to say who is and who isn't, although it's rare for any of that species to _not_ be part of that tribe! Their leader, whenever he finds one who isn't currently part of the tribe, will often times badger them into joining his ranks. There were few who said no and lived to tell the tale about it."

"They _attack_ if the mon being offered to join doesn't comply?" What an awful thing to do! A mon could just be minding their own business and suddenly, when declining the offer to join the Eon Tribe, get attacked by whomever was present!

"Generally, yeah. No one knows what the Eon Tribe's end goal is, but what we all do know is to stay away from the Eon Tribe. Unless you're powerful enough to fight against them, it's best to stay away and notify the local Hall members to keep an eye on them." Actually, it wouldn't have been surprising if one of the mons that passed by Masa had reported her. If that was the case, then Kouku would have to make sure to stay close to Masa so no one would get the wrong idea.

Then again, with his rep, perhaps staying with the Eevee wasn't the best idea in the first place…

"Did you take a look at the bulletin board while I was getting us some lunch? It has a map of the general area in case you want to know where in the world we are. But if you want a map of the region and/or world, we'll have to go to the Hall to look. The way to the Hall is that bridge just past the bank and bookstore."

"Actually, I got distracted mostly by looking at the town," Masa admitted sheepishly, glancing just past Kouku to see several other mons running up a set of winding stairs threw the space between the boardwalk and the massive tree in the center of the town square (circle); there were four of them, all looking like they were having a lot of fun chasing one another and giggling, and were running even further back down the boardwalk to a step-down area where a podium stood in front of a handful of wooden crates, with another long bridge connecting the main area to another large set of trees with a smaller boardwalk. "I was trying to figure out what that area over there was," It was just beyond the café area Kouku had been standing outside only minutes ago. The fact that there was a podium there made Masa think it was some sort of meeting place, but she wasn't sure.

"That area over there doubles as Union Town's school class area, and a place for meetings to take place. The teachers thought that the students would learn and behave better if their classroom was out in the open where their parents could easily come and check in on them. A separate area for the class isn't really needed in this town. We're such a close knit community that it isn't a bother, and we hold no secrets from one another. There's a bridge behind that podium. That brings you to the actual school building where the teachers get together and dish out grades, hold all of the supplies and such. During the heavy rain, though, the students will return to that building to continue class.

"It doesn't rain too terribly much here, though, and the canopy above tends to keep us dry for the most part. Last night was probably one of our worst nights as far as rain goes. Storms like that happen occasionally around these parts, but they're not often." Masa had wondered about that. With only the treetops to provide cover to most of the town, there didn't seem to be any other cover around. At the least, she would have thought to have seen some cloth strewn across as a way to keep the rain from soaking everything and everyone. But now that Masa really looked up at the tree tops, she could see that the greenery was quite thick. As bright as the various streams of sunlight made the square (circle) out to be, it was probably even brighter outside of the forest without the canopy blocking most of the sun's rays and light.

"It must be really dark in town, then, when night comes. With the tree tops being so thick, it would block out most of the moonlight."

"Actually," Kouku smiled widely as he stuck a rawst berry slice in his mouth, chewing it briefly before swallowing it with the most satisfied look. "When it gets dark, there are a few Shuppet who live here who hang around at night and light this part of the town with their Wil-o-wisps. They're in control of the wisps, but on the off chance that one of the wisps catches something on fire our local weather Castform that can and will put the flames out. Fortunately, we haven't had an incident like that in a long time. The last time there was a fire here, I wasn't even living here." There was an almost awkward pause after Kouku's explanation, as if he were thinking about something; Masa took the chance to grab a slice of an aspear berry, flinching slightly and wrinkling her nose at how unexpectedly hard and sour it was.

For a moment, as Kouku thought to himself about what to say next, Masa didn't think he'd say much more before he opened his mouth again to speak. "Actually, I think the last fire here was just before I moved here. The fire was pretty big and took a bit of effort to put out if I recall correctly. I know the fire was started by a clan fighting for territory, but Galahadi and a few others kept the intruders out while the other Pokemon worked to keep the forest from burning down. The fight was deeper into the forest, so you can't see the damage here in the town.

"Deeper in the forest you can see where trees burned and tell which ones are the newer ones, and which one took some bad damage. The mayor goes out daily to tend to that section of the forest, though. He hopes those trees can grow and prosper." If the Eevee remembered correctly, the mayor, an old Sceptile named Junko Dori, was also one of the Keeper's of the forest. A Keeper was a mon who looked after the forest and made sure it was safely growing and protected, and they also took care of threats against the forest- at least, that was how Kouku had described them last night. According to Kouku, there were several Keeper's of the forest, though the only other one he knew of was a Shiftry hermit who was 'grumpier and less friendly than Kyoya'.

Was it possible for anyone to be grumpier than Kyoya? He was pretty grumpy. Even just asking for directions was like pulling teeth. Imagine finding that old hermit Shiftry and asking him for directions…

"I'd hate to meet that mon," Masa admitted, popping a sweet chunk of pecha berry in her mouth. In a world where she didn't know anything or anyone, she would be prone to asking for directions and help constantly. She'd have to keep in mind to avoid asking any questions or guidance from a Shiftry in this forest area. "Does he ever-" A shriek from underneath the board walk cut the small Eevee off. Everymon's attention turned to the stairs as a Pikachu raced up them.

"Glalie! Glalie are coming! They're attacking! They're freezing everything!"

A/N:

\- Clave's name is derived from the German name for Klefki, which is _Clavion_.

\- Thortula is literally a combination of 'Thor' and 'Tarantula'. I couldn't resist.

\- Yaneura is a combination of _Yanma_ and _Meganeura_ , which is a genus of giant prehistoric dragonflies.

Also, I apologize for this late upload _again_. I've had a lot on my plate as far as work and a few other things. I still can't guarantee that I'll do better in the future, so please make due with me.


	5. This is not a new chapter

I really hate it when other people abandon their stories and shit, but I'm going to have to do that to this one. The story is free to become someone else's if they wish to continue it. As for the reasons why I'm doing this aren't my own problems. The writer of this story has lost someone close to her and doesn't have any inspiration to continue now. Just PM me if you want to take up this story.


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